1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which an image forming apparatus main body forms an image on a recording medium using a consumable item removably attached thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a method of switching an operation mode of an image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a printer, or the like, there has conventionally been known a switching method achieved using a service tool (such as, for example, a service mode of a control panel, a special-purpose jig, dedicated PC, or the like) by a customer engineer (CE) who has expert knowledge. Such a switching method is adopted in a case where the changing of operation mode arbitrarily achieved by a user is not desired.
The above-described method is, however, inconvenient for users because they are required to call a CE every time the need to change the operation mode arises. A manufacturer or a dealer is, on the other hand, required to send a CE to an installation site of the apparatus every time the operation mode is switched, which is very costly for them.